Man charged in connection to gun store burglary in Cranberry Township
One man is facing charges in relation to multiple stolen firearms throughout Western Pennsylvania.
Jaemir Beard, 18, pleaded not guilty to possession of stolen firearms during an arraignment hearing on April 23 at the U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh.
Beard and as many as six other teenagers between the ages of 13 and 15 are suspected of stealing more than 80 guns from four local shops around the Greater Pittsburgh Region and another in nearby Youngstown, Ohio.
A special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives alleges that one of those robberies took place at Cranberry Township’s Keystone Shooting Center in the early morning hours of March 17.
According to the affidavit, video cameras captured three suspects entering the store at about 5:41 a.m., while another suspect remained in the vehicle as the driver.
After entering, the suspects broke several glass cases and removed both handguns and AR-15 style rifles before exiting at about 5:43 a.m.
When store employees arrived around 8:30 a.m., they discovered a broken front window and immediately called 911, which dispatched the Northern Regional Police Department.
ATF investigators concluded that about 25 total firearms, including pistols and rifles, were taken during the incident, the affidavit states.
Just hours after the alleged burglary, the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police connected Beard to the crime through an Instagram post.
Later that day, investigators set up surveillance outside of a McKees Rocks home, where they witnessed two young men exit the residence with a black plastic trash bag suspected to contain a rifle.
According to the affidavit, law enforcement then conducted a traffic stop that found Beard and another juvenile were in possession of three stolen firearms, two grams of crack cocaine, a bag of marijuana and a key to a stolen Hyundai Genesis, which was the vehicle used in the theft at the Keystone Shooting Center.
A report from WPXI in Pittsburgh said that ATF officers have located nearly half the guns stolen in the Pennsylvania incidents. Officers are reportedly still working on recovering the rest of those guns.